Customer Experience and Recommendation

by Bryan (Kleveland on SBG Forum)
(United States)

I just wanted an opportunity to make known my personal experience with Cheness Cutlery and dealing with Paul...

For several years I was working on saving up for parts and services to build a completely customized katana. Over the years I was researching everything from quality and properties of steel, even down to wood working should I get ambitious enough to do my own carving for the tsuka and saya.

After much researching, I decided to go with Cheness' 30" o-katana blade. Being over 6 foot, I wanted a katana that was built for my size, and, with a deal like 279.99 for a 9260 carbon steel blade, I couldn't pass it up. I wrote Paul directly, discussing the durability of the sword to stand up to frequent, heavy duty tamashegiri. Once thoroughly satisfied in talking with him, I placed my order and waited....

When my katana arrived, I was heading out on my way to work, so I didn't have time to do more than take it out of the box and gaze upon this awesome piece. I was so busy that it took me a day or two before I could appreciate it further. And that's where the story begins...

When I pulled out the blade and began to clean it, I noticed that as the chamois passed the kissaki, it got caught, to the point it snagged and tore. I looked down and realized the tip was bent! I wrote Paul, and the next day I had an email waiting, telling me he'd be more than happy to accept the return...

I sent the blade back right before I had to take a trip out to Chicago, and in the process I lost my tracking number. To make matters worse, the package became completely lost in the mail. I was furious with USPS and thought that I was out some 300 bucks....

Paul and I both did what we could to look for the missing package, should it have come in under his nose, or returned to my address. After a week and a half, Paul and I remained in contact, and he offered me a deal that again shocked me.

Rather than simply say "oh well" to me and brush the matter off, he said that, for me, since he and I had spoken for such a length of time, that he'd split the losses with me, and created a special invoice to allow me to purchase another katana at a sharply reduced rate. Not only that, but he would inspect it personally to ensure that there was no damage to the kissaki, and that it was the latest model from his forges. He went to very great lengths to ensure that I was happy and confident in my purchase. In the end, I'm very thankful to Paul for doing that for me, and VERY HIGHLY recommend taking your business to him.